Naughty Noughty's sportsbike

[Lukas239]

I've developed a fancy for a 90s/00s sportbike lately. This was set off by seeing a 929 bade and my old man's Gen1 Aprilia Tuono.

Conveniently i've got access to a fairly large place for storage +/- maintenance (minus the tools) so i'm thinking this is an itch that needs to be scratched.

This is likely to be a temporary itch, and i doubt i'll ever take it to a track, so budget is MAX 4k. Extra points for anything that isn't inline 4 and can be worked on fairly simply. I'm also vertically challenged so nothing too high or weighty.

What have people had previously and any recommendations/things to avoid? I'm not committed to a make or model; i think i'll know what i want when i see it.

Indulge me!

[moto_traxport]

Suzuki TL1000S ticks a fair few of those boxes.

Most Jap stuff will be inline 4 though.

Yamaha R1
Kawasaki ZX10R C model

Buy wisely at £4k and it should be reasonably depreciation proof.

[carinaman]

SL1000 Falco, though I am wary of plastic tanks.

[mister_ee]

955 Daytonas are fun to ride and the three cylinder engine sounds fantastic

[Tribal Chestnut]

I’ve always liked old FZRs.

[the cueball]

Honda SP1

[trickywoo]

the cueball said:

Honda SP1

Show me one for less than £4K and I’ll buy it before op does.

[Jazoli]

Gen 2 RSV Mille R



Not an IL4, reliable, quality suspension and brakes, great noise, a lot more 'special' than a Japanese IL4 or twin.

955's are a good shout but they also have (as mentioned above) a plastic tank and they all seem to suffer with swelling these days.

Edited by Jazoli on Friday 20th November 07:49

[Drawweight]

I’ll put in my vote for the venerable GSXR 750 SRAD



Now I’ll just go and have a little cry that I let go of an identical bike far too easily.

[graham22]

Liked the 929 Fireblade, surely consider a 959 'blade - last of Baba's.

[the cueball]

trickywoo said:

Show me one for less than £4K and I’ll buy it before op does.

I paid just over 2 grand for mine a couple of year ago... shouldn’t be that hard, may have to look a bit harder and wider.

One was on eBay last week for just under £3k, now gone.

Or should I get mine up for sale for 8k like some of the crap out there?? Hmmm... lol

[Tasmin200]

Or 749 is you can't find a 999

[trickywoo]

the cueball said:

I paid just over 2 grand for mine a couple of year ago... shouldn’t be that hard, may have to look a bit harder and wider.

You never paid £2k for a VTR 1000 SP1 a couple of years ago, unless it was fked.

[CAPP0]

trickywoo said:

the cueball said:

I paid just over 2 grand for mine a couple of year ago... shouldn’t be that hard, may have to look a bit harder and wider.

You never paid £2k for a VTR 1000 SP1 a couple of years ago, unless it was fked.

Tell that to the guy on here who just paid £1k for an R1.....

[trickywoo]

CAPP0 said:

Tell that to the guy on here who just paid £1k for an R1.....

Yes but it needed recommissioning and is only worth £3k to £4k up and running with an MOT.

Link me the cheapest SP1 you can find now and I'll change my mind.

[the cueball]

trickywoo said:

You never paid £2k for a VTR 1000 SP1 a couple of years ago, unless it was fked.

I’ve done nothing but ride, service, and throw tyres at it. Not sure if that means it’s ‘fked’ by your definition or not.

As I say, there was one on eBay last week for under £3k as well... it’s gone now, but still shows up on the search - that didn’t appear to be ‘fked’ either.

[trickywoo]

the cueball said:

I’ve done nothing but ride, service, and throw tyres at it. Not sure if that means it’s ‘fked’ by your definition or not.

As I say, there was one on eBay last week for under £3k as well... it’s gone now, but still shows up on the search - that didn’t appear to be ‘fked’ either.

If you mean the one that the auction started at £2.6k it was almost certainly bought out of auction, and for a much higher price than that and more than £3k.

If you find me a decent condition SP1 for £4k I'll buy it off you immediately.

[the cueball]

trickywoo said:

If you mean the one that the auction started at £2.6k it was almost certainly bought out of auction, and for a much higher price than that and more than £3k.

If you find me a decent condition SP1 for £4k I'll buy it off you immediately.

You’re certainly just making things up now to fuel your apparent outrage that a stranger on a website that you know nothing about managed to get himself a bargain.

Find your own bike to buy, takes some effort and good luck, but they are out there.

Jeez, most people just say to me, well done getting that, you’re a lucky bugger! Lol


Maybe best to let the OP get back on track with his thread my bike suggestion is clearly having a negative effect on you and dragging the thread in a different way.

[Ilikemotorbikes]

Jazoli said:

Gen 2 RSV Mille R



Not an IL4, reliable, quality suspension and brakes, great noise, a lot more 'special' than a Japanese IL4 or twin.

955's are a good shout but they also have (as mentioned above) a plastic tank and they all seem to suffer with swelling these days.

Edited by Jazoli on Friday 20th November 07:49

Gen 2 bikes also have a plastic tank but the ways to store them to prevent issues or coat them to prevent problems are well documented.

I've owned a ridden a fair few of the suggestions and these ar emy thoughts on them.

1996 Fireblade - great bike and well sought after (well 92-99 bikes generally are)
Carbed, quite light, handle well, pretty comfy, good fuel range but a bit bland and have equivalent of a 750 power output.

1998 GSXR 750 - similar to the blade but has a racier seating position and arguably handles a little better. Cheaper than the Fireblade though

1998-2001 Yamaha R1 - blows the Fireblade away EVERYWHERE! Better brakes, suspension, engine, feels lighter and is undoubtedly faster. Very sought after and hard to find one that isn't shagged or under budget and tidy. A few niggles like gearboxes, liner issues

1996 TL1000s - a bit marmite (imo) and a bit slower than the same year fireblade, heavier clutch and takes more riding. Didn't like the one I rode

1997 Triumph daytona t595 - brilliant noise! Lots of niggly issues (do lots of research prior to buying) but a very good bike and very similar to the Fireblade but has a roomier seat and is more comfortable. Also the noise is brilliant again

2004 Aprilia RSVR - buy a factory if you can go for one. Lighter wheels, ohlins suspension and damper, lots of carbon.
Same engine as non factory but later bikes got ohlins forks with radial brembo as standard.
Later bikes are better as they have updated stator/generator which doesn't fail (apparently the earlier bikes do and its a 1k fix)
They need more tlc and have lots of little problems but they are such an event to ride! Great engine that never runs out of power, great noise, very compliant ride for a sportsbike. VERY racy position

Imo the R1 is the best road bike out of the above and where I'd consider spending my money but if twins are your thing then the Aprilia gen 2 is a very, very good bike if you are handy with spanners and can cope with the riding position

[Ilikemotorbikes]

They are a brilliant bike but I'm biased

If you aren't in a rush I'm doing a youtube video shortly about my experience of the Aprilia and will contain lots of useful info for potential future owners